Questions on 72 GMC grille and chrome

[McDeezl]

Getting all of the rest of the front end and chrome to line up.
We'll start with the rad support mounts ... the frame is a '68 but rest of it is a '72 so when I originally mounted the support I used '72 parts and discovered that it leaves it sitting higher than it should. Swapped out the mount kit for the proper '68 and it dropped the rad support a bit but not as much as I had hoped. Some photos that help explain the difference and why you have to use the rad support kit that matches the frame year and not necessarily the year of the rest of it.
The main effect is lowering the light buckets with respect to the grille which improved things quite a bit but still have a ways to go on the left side ... next post on that with photos below.

[McDeezl]

So everything lines up pretty close and almost there. The bumper, hood, grille all seem not bad and got the fender-to-door gaps back to where they were before I started shifting everything around forgetting about that!
Still have the issue with the light buckets to the grille and bezels. The right side isn't awful but the left side has a ways to go. Looks like I will probably end up having to cut the spot welds for the double bucket mount on left side and move it over and re-weld. This grille has been on and off so many times (and not done yet) I should have put a zipper on it!

[McDeezl]

Got the hood adjusted and this is about the best I can get with what I have to work with. The gap at the rear is about as wide as I would go and left with quite a gap at the front between hood and the top bar.
Pretty sure is the same situation Tim71 mentioned above and no idea why or what to do to improve this. Hood needs to stretch about 1/2" from rear to front

[McDeezl]

So here is the final result ... for now.
Ended up having to drill out the spot welds for the headlight pot mounts, reposition and weld. Not perfect but a whole lot better than it was. Got the eyebrows mounted which took some time with getting the clips into the back where they are supposed to be and then measuring about 10 times before drilling holes in the fender.
The black paint between the grille and eyebrow filled in that gap nicely and looks ok or better than it was in any case.
It all looks ok and the only part that leaves me unsatisfied is the gap between hood and chrome top bar described above. I know I'm not the only one with this issue but not too sure what can be done about it .... hood isn't going to stretch too well and not sure a better quality aftermarket chrome top bar would do it either.

[54blackhornet]

Nice work I must say ! Four eyes are difficult compared to the C/10 but worth it in my opinion. Folks just deserve them very often. In my area we had a very successful Pontiac Cadillac GMC dealership, lots of them still running around...

[McDeezl]

Tks for that! Funny, back at the very start of the build I was thinking of going Chev instead of keeping it four-eye. Can't imagine why but that idea didn't stick long and glad I stayed four-eye, they just have a bit of that added cool factor I think. There was next to nothing salvageable from the original so all options were open from the start.

[Big H]

One of my trucks is a 1970 GMC C25 that I have crawled all over and have determined that currently, the majority of it, is just as it left the Fremont factory ... and my hood to grille trim gap matches yours. When I release the hood catch, I would not be able to open my hood if it wasn't for that gap. I have to reach my fingers through that gap to get under the hood and lift it open.

[McDeezl]

Well Big H, you just made my weekend!! Thanks Sir!
Officially not looking into this "defect" any longer. There's a whole list of other nasty little things on this truck lined up waiting to be attacked.

[Richard]

Though I have never owned a GMC. I thought they all used a body color filler at the front of the hood. I know I have seen it before. Whether it attaches to the hood or grill I also do not know. Just saw some pics of a 67 or 68 with it. Are not all the 67-72 gmc fenders the same with the exception of 67 not having reflectors or side markers lights? Saw some information that the top filler piece is different on 67-68 GMC vs 69-72 due to the change of the flatter face hood which is shorter. Guessing your top filler is for 67-68 trucks. IDK just trying to help. That gap would drive me nuts.

[McDeezl]

Thanks for that Richard, will look into this for sure. First I've heard of a filler piece between the hood and grille top bar but that could explain it.
I know the GMC fenders go 68-72 and guessing that the only difference for 67 would be the side reflector but not sure. Chev fenders are completely different and go 69-72 and then 67-68 I believe. I went through a mixup on this and put up a post on page 3 of my build thread.

[McDeezl]

Had a quick look into this and checked the LMC parts breakdown on the GMC grilles.
From the breakdown you see #8 and #9 center molding (top bar) ..... 8 is for a '68 grille and 9 is for 69-72 and no additional filler trim indicated.
Below that #3 is what they call a front hood molding and it is for a '68. Maybe this is what you have noticed on other trucks? Seems like on a '68 you would have #8 for center top bar and then #3 that goes between the top bar and the hood?

[Richard]

Found this thread http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=663200 I obviously do not have a full grasp on what I am looking at with the GMC grills. It must the paintable top piece for the 68 I saw. Maybe give GMC Paul's a call. Trust the active board venders more than I do LMC.

[McDeezl]

I hear ya on quality issues with their parts but the flip side is that their catalog diagrams come in super handy for assembly info. I've used a few of the board vendors and had just super results with quality and providing advice and answers to questions. Very fortunate also to have Bills Truck Shop (similar to Wes, Paul, etc.) here in Ontario Canada near enough to where I live who has saved the day on more occasions than I can count.